Former Uber security chief charged with paying hush money to cover up 2016 hack
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Uber’s former security chief has been charged with obstruction of justice for trying to hide a data breach from the Federal Trade Commission and Uber management, according to a statement from the Department of Justice.
Joseph Sullivan, who was Uber’s chief security officer from April 2015 to November 2017, allegedly concealed the hack that occurred in October 2016, which exposed confidential data of 57 million drivers and customers, including drivers’ license information. Uber paid the hackers $100,000 in bitcoin to delete the data, according to the Justice Department. (Sullivan was later fired.)
In addition to obstruction of justice, Sullivan is charged with misprision of a felony, meaning he knew of the breach and took steps to...